Glendale Community College men's golf takes third in conference match

Before heading north to compete in a Western State Conference match at Santa Maria Country Club on Monday, several members of the Glendale Community College men's golf team checked the weather forecast for the area.

The weather called for sunny conditions. When the Vaqueros arrived at the venue, however, they found themselves set to compete in the rain.

Glendale shrugged off the weather elements and finished third with a 379.

"We left to head up there with no umbrellas," said Glendale college Coach Greg Osbourne, whose team had finished fourth of fifth in recent matches. "They came ready to play in shorts; none of them had long pants.

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"Not one of them had any kind of rain gear. They got so soaked. It rained for about the first eight or nine holes. It's funny now, but it wasn't funny at first."

Glendale, which equaled its best finish in a conference match since Feb. 11 at Valencia Country Club, had all five of its players shoot 78 or lower on the par-72 course.

College of the Canyons took first with a 367, followed by Santa Barbara City College (378). Ventura finished fourth with a 385, Allan Hancock was fifth (387), followed by Bakersfield (397) and Citrus (401).

The Vaqueros received a 74 from Tavit Garabedian and a 75 from Jin Park. Derrik Hubbard and Clayton Ojeda finished with 76s for the Vaqueros, who got a 78 from Ryan Miranda.

"They hung through the rain and their scores were good," Osbourne said. "It's the first time in a while where I've felt good.

"It's more of a tricky course than it is a hard course. The scores give us some confidence."

Garabedian, a freshman, said he brushed aside the rain and relied on his short game to help him register a quality score.

"My chipping and putting was mostly working," Garabedian said. "It was a little tough out there.

"I was able to get around the greens by my second shot and was able to get up and down. Everything worked pretty good for me. I feel like I'm starting to play better."

The Vaqueros will next compete in another conference match Monday at Glendora Country Club before hosting a conference match April 15 at Oakmont Country Club.

The conference finals will take place April 22 at Soule Park Golf Club in Ojai.